You can dispute the erroneous entries on your credit report for free as per the
Fair Credit Reporting Act. However, you need to apply for a credit report to
review it. After locating the erroneous entries, you’re required to send a dispute
letter to the creditors. But this is a time consuming process.

So you can take credit repair help from professionals to guide you reestablishing your credit.
Many debt stricken consumers rely on credit repair agency to repair their credit
report. Therefore, the financial market is crammed with credit repair firms after
the recent economic meltdown. But you are required to find an authentic debt
repair company, as there is a mushrooming growth of the scam companies.
These fraud companies are targeting the consumers to extract money from them
and further complicate their financial situation.

Here are a few tips to find a legitimate credit repair firm:

1. You can ask for referrals from your friends or relatives regarding different
credit repair firms. If these people faced similar problem in the past, then
they must be aware of some authentic credit repair firm. Otherwise you
can simply use the search engine to find legitimate credit repair firms.

2. Make sure that you verify regarding the company before hiring the
services. You can verify with the Better Business Bureau to check whether
any complaint has been lodged against the company. You can check
with the State’s Attorney General’s Office to verify the authenticity of the
company.

3. Make sure that you verify the fee payment policy of the credit repair firm.
According to the Credit Repair Organizations Act, you are not liable to pay
to the company until it shows you the result of the services that it claimed.
Try to avoid associating with companies charging upfront fee as it has
been prohibited by the Federal Trade commission.

4. You can find out from the company how they conduct the process of
repairing the credit. If the company in order to repair the credit dispute all
negative information inclusive of the accurate and inaccurate, then avoid
these types of firm. Remember, that negative but accurate information

like bankruptcies, bad loans, and lawsuits will remain on your credit report
for a specific period. Bankruptcy will blemish your credit report for 7 to 10
years. The lawsuits stay will show on your credit report for 7 years or until
the expiry of the statute of limitations.

5. Try to check the contact form provided by the company. The form should
include the company name and address, complete details on the services
provided, service cost charged by the company as well as the payment
policy. The company should provide a written document stating the
duration required to achieve the target and other service claimed by the
company. The company has to start the services after completion of the
grace period of three days once the contract is signed. If you wish to
terminate the contract during this grace period, then you are not liable to
pay fee.

Therefore, these are the most effective ways to find a legitimate credit repair
company.